Impact case study database

Informing UK policy

Both Sajid Javid MP and Baroness Neville-Rolfe wrote to congratulate Waterson for his work on the report. [ 5.1] In March 2017, the Government issued its formal response to the report, stating its intention to accept all the recommendations. [ 5.2] As a direct result of the report's recommendations, National Trading Standards (NTS) and Trading Standards Scotland commenced investigation of particular individuals who engage in large-scale ticket purchases, with the aim of discouraging others from doing the same. NTS secured an increase in its grant to carry out this work. [ 5.3] Following investigation, two ticket touts were jailed in February 2020 on various counts of fraud relating to secondary ticketing. [ 5.3]

In December 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an investigation into secondary platforms' adherence to CRA legislation (including raids on two companies' offices). [ 5.4]  In November 2017, it began enforcement action against four major secondary ticketing websites suspected of breaching the CRA. [ 5.4] One of the platforms, Viagogo, failed to make necessary changes to how it presents information to its customers. As a result, the CMA initiated legal proceedings against them. In September 2019, following a court order secured by the CMA, Viagogo finally addressed outstanding concerns and court action has now been suspended. [ 5.4] The court order requires that an annual independent review of Viagogo's compliance be carried out until 2023. [ 5.4]

In April 2018, the Government introduced new rules requiring all ticket resellers and secondary platforms to provide consumers with detailed information about tickets, including the location of seats, disclosure of any restrictions and the original price. [ 5.5] For the first time, resellers will also have to supply the Unique Ticket Number to the purchaser if the event organiser specifies one, helping to identify the ticket's seat or standing area location. In addition, three of the main secondary ticketing sites signed formal undertakings committing to ensuring better information is provided about tickets resold through their sites, building on changes they made during the CMA's investigation. [ 5.5] The Advertising Standards Authority also announced a clampdown on misleading pricing practices on secondary websites in March 2018 and banned Viagogo from using the phrase "official site", referring them to Trading Standards. [ 5.5] Furthermore, an amendment to the Digital Economy Act in July 2018 gives the government the power to create a criminal offence of using internet bots for the mass-purchase of event tickets, with offenders subject to unlimited fines. [ 5.5]

In addition, the Waterson Report has shaped wider debate around this issue. It has been cited in 17 Parliamentary debates, including twice by Theresa May in PMQs (19 October 2016 and 1 March 2017). [ 5.6] The House of Commons Library produced a briefing paper on secondary ticketing (February 2017), referring extensively to the report. [ 5.6] Waterson continues to engage with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on ticket abuse, giving a presentation in January 2019.

Shaping music industry practices

Waterson's report was welcomed by 'a coalition of more than 30 music industry figures' who called on the Government to take forward the recommendations. [ 5.7] The Music Managers Forum (MMF), the largest representative body of music managers in the world, invited Waterson to speak at a 'Live and Ticketing Summit' in September 2016, hosted in collaboration with Songkick (a platform that manages ticket sales for artists) and FanFair Alliance, a group formed by music managers to campaign against online industrial-scale ticket-touting. Following the Summit, MMF and FanFair Alliance created a guide for managers and artists on tackling online ticket-touting. [ 5.8] FanFair Alliance has published two further guides since July 2016 to bring about change in secondary ticketing: advice for consumers on buying tickets online based on the guide in the annex to Waterson's report and advice on how to seek refunds from secondary platforms. [ 5.8] Drawing directly on Waterson's report, FanFair Alliance launched four practical policy recommendations to Government to help curtail the activities of professional online touts. [ 5.8]

The Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers (STAR) is the self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticketing industry in the UK. In 2018, STAR outlined the action it has taken in response to the issues suggested by Waterson for consideration by the primary ticket market. [ 5.9] In response to recommendation 4 of the report, STAR formed a project group of organisations across the live entertainment industry. The discussions, including STAR, CMA, DCMS and BIS, informed the CMA's advice to event organisers regarding ticket resales. [ 5.9] In 2017 STAR also updated the Code of Practice for its members to reflect Waterson's suggestion that booking or service fees should be included in the price shown on the ticket. [ 5.9] Furthermore, soon after the publication of the report, STAR established a relationship with the Cyber Information Sharing Partnership, as recommended by Waterson. [ 5.9]

Influencing wider policy and practice

Waterson has been asked to provide advice on event ticketing to multiple organisations, including government bodies. For example, he produced a report (February-June 2019) for the Irish Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on a merger between key players in the Irish ticketing industry, and in December 2019 he met with the founder of Twickets (the website for fan-to-fan face value ticket resales) to provide advice on expanding their operations. He also provided feedback on the draft of a report by the Face-Value European Alliance for Ticketing which makes recommendations for the future of online ticket resales across the EU (published October 2020).

The government of a Canadian province asked Waterson to conduct an overview of Canadian legislation regarding secondary ticketing and to provide policy advice (March 2017). He has also been in discussion with the US Government Accountability Office, which has since produced a report on consumer protection issues in event ticketing (April 2018) that cites the research. [ 5.10]

In addition, four start-up organisations have been in discussion with Waterson and are working to provide technological solutions to enhance security and transparency in the ticketing industry. One of them, the Aventus Protocol Foundation, invited Waterson onto their Advisory Board. [ 5.11] At their request, Waterson produced a follow-up report in the form of a working paper, discussing the potential role of technology in improving event ticketing. [ 5.11]

Influencing central government resourcing for HMRC

The findings of Advani's research had direct impact on the resourcing of tax audits.

In partnership with The Spectator and New Statesman magazines, Advani organised panel events at the Conservative and Labour Party conferences in autumn 2019 to present his work

to a policymaker audience. Jesse Norman MP (Financial Secretary to the Treasury) was a panellist at the Conservative Party event, enabling Advani to draw his attention to the value of audits for raising income. He also made contact with Tim Leunig (Economic Advisor to the Chancellor) through the event, and subsequently had meetings with Norman, Leunig and other Treasury officials to discuss the implications of his research for HMRC resourcing in the context of the number of audits they should be doing. [ 5.1]

Building on Advani's work, the Treasury asked HMRC to provide costings for an expansion of compliance staff across a range of taxpayer groups. In the spring 2020 budget, the Chancellor committed to providing HMRC with the resources to employ 1,300 additional auditors, which is expected to bring in an average of GBP770,000,000 per year over the next five years (GBP3,900,000,000 in total), or almost GBP600,000 a head. [ 5.1]

Shaping HMRC practices

Advani discussed the research findings with senior members of the HMRC Tax Gaps and Compliance teams. He presented the findings to high-level HMRC staff, including the Permanent Secretary and other senior directors, in December 2017, providing "… sound evidence around different options HMRC could pursue" (Jim Harra, Director General, HMRC Customer Strategy & Tax Design), and offering "new insights about self-assessment taxpayer behaviour and the impact of HMRC's compliance activities [that] will have value both within and outside of HMRC" (Kevin Fletcher, Director, HMRC Knowledge, Intelligence & Analysis Unit). [ 5.2] In March 2020 Advani also discussed the implications of his work with Ruth Stanier, Director General of Customer Strategy and Tax Design at HMRC, having been put in touch directly by Tim Leunig.[ Text removed for publication]

The research is also referenced in the Office for Statistics Regulation's 'Compliance check on HMRC measuring tax gap statistics' as an example of innovative use of HMRC data. It recommends that HMRC publish links between its data and resulting research, specifically mentioning Advani's research, to help promote greater use of its Datalab. [ 5.5]

Informing opposition party policy and third sector campaigning

The research informed the development of the Labour Party's tax policy ahead of the 2019 general election. Following the Labour Party conference event, Advani was contacted by economic advisors to the then Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell, [ Text removed for publication].

Later that day, McDonnell gave a speech in Parliament during a debate on tax avoidance and argued the need for increasing the number of targeted audits, referencing the same research findings drawn on in the Fair Tax Programme. [ 5.6]

Tax Justice UK also drew on Advani's work in its Manifesto for Tax Equality, published at the start of the 2019 general election campaign to urge political parties to address tax inequality and avoidance by resourcing HMRC to increase targeted audits. [ 5.8]

Informing international tax practice and wider debate

The influence of the research has had an international reach. Advani presented his work to representatives from the Norwegian Tax Authority in May 2018 and had follow-up discussions with them later in the year, helping to inform their subsequent study to understand the long-term effects of tax audits in Norway. [ 5.9]

Advani has also presented his work to tax administrators from four states in East India (West Bengal, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Assam). He has had email discussions with the New Zealand and Ethiopian tax authorities about learnings that might be relevant for them and spoke to officials from the South African Revenue Service in March 2020 about improving their measures of compliance.

Furthermore, Advani's work was cited by the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab and in the IFS Green Budget 2018 to highlight the value of targeted audits. The latter was subsequently used by the OECD to call for more targeted audits in its UK Economic Survey report. [ 5.10]

Improving tax compliance in Belgium

The research was conducted in collaboration with the General Administration of Collection and Debt Recovery within the Belgian Finance Ministry (Federal Public Service (FPS) Finances). Throughout the course of the experiments, the team had regular meetings with senior government officials, including the President of FPS Finance, the Administrator-General for Collection and Debt Recovery and the Administrator-General for Taxation for Individuals.

Following the research, FPS Finance has now permanently adopted simplified communication to taxpayers, using the same simplification techniques tested in the experiments, as well as a deterrence message highlighting the penalties for not paying. [ 5.1]

Simplified letters with deterrence messages are sent to all individuals subject to completing a personal income tax return in Belgium (approximately 2,000,000 people annually), throughout the tax process. This includes letters sent to taxpayers to request them to file a return and again to request payment of taxes, as well as reminders where submissions or payments are late. [ 5.1] Letters are sent in all the main languages spoken in Belgium: French, German and Flemish.

The new approach to tax collection has had a significant ongoing effect on compliance, both in terms of revenue gained and timeliness of payments. It has also led to substantial cost-savings by reducing the need for traditional enforcement methods. Replying to a Parliamentary question about the results of the trial, the Belgian Finance Minister at the time, Johan Van Overtveldt [ 5.2], confirmed that:

• EUR 4,000,000 additional revenue was collected in 2015 and EUR 3,000,000 in 2016.

• EUR 30,000,000 was collected more quickly in 2015 (compared to previous years when simplified letters were not used), and EUR 25,000,000 in 2016.

• EUR 1,000,000 was saved in enforcement costs in 2015, and EUR 1,400,000 was saved in 2016. (This compares to EUR 79,550 for the one-off cost of the simplification intervention.)

The Minister also confirmed that, following the success of the intervention, the use of behavioural insights has been included as an objective in FPS Finance's governance agreement, and a formal unit within the tax authority has been established to study and apply behavioural insights throughout the tax process. [ 5.2]

Referring to the research, he said: "The undeniable positive results of the various experiments that the Federal Public Service (FPS) Finance has carried out in recent years clearly demonstrate the added value of the use of behavioural theories. Small, low-cost interventions can have a big impact on the behaviour of those liable for payment and reporting...The current and future Governance Agreement with FPS Finance refers to the importance of applying nudging and behavioural insights to incentivise taxpayers to fulfil their tax obligations. In this context, a new unit is currently being set up within the General Administration of Collection and Recovery that will specifically deal with Tax Compliance and the role behavioural insights can play in this." [ 5.2, translation from French]

The 'Tax Compliance and Behavioural Insights' unit was established November 2018 and is led by Maarten Luts. It initiates and oversees the use of behaviour nudging methods to enhance the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of all policies targeting tax compliance. For example, all letters sent to debtors are now reviewed in the context of the nudge messages trialled in the research. This includes VAT payment reminders, communication about split payment plans and reminder letters to pay penal fines. [ 5.1]

Influencing wider applications of nudging in policymaking

As the only behavioural insights unit within the federal administration, the Tax Compliance and Behavioural Insights unit acts as a centre of expertise for other administrations within FPS Finance and more widely across federal ministries and regional governments in Belgium. Maarten Luts and colleagues have met directly to share learning from the research with representatives from the ministry for social security, ministry for labour, ministry for policy and support, and the Federal Agency for Administrative Simplification. They have also provided advice to the country's 3 regional governments (Wallonia, Brussels and Flanders) and the City of Antwerp. [ 5.1]

Following the success of the intervention, the federal government is considering how nudge theory can be used more widely in policy. The research was cited in a proposal to apply insights from behavioural science to the Belgian healthcare sector, which was adopted by the Chamber of Representatives in July 2018. The proposal mandates that the federal government test nudges within selected policy areas in the health sector, implement them if successful, and establish a Belgian centre of expertise in behavioural science. [ 5.3]

The research was also cited in an approved proposal to apply behavioural insights widely across Flemish regional policy. It commits the Flemish government to developing a framework for the application of behavioural sciences in policy, trialling behavioural science initiatives in selected policies annually and setting up a Flemish Behavioural Sciences expert team, which has since been established. [ 5.4]

The impact of the research has extended to other countries, in Europe and beyond, that are using learning from the research to inform behavioural interventions in tax compliance activities. Luts has presented the research to authorities in Bulgaria, Ethiopia, Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Macedonia, Serbia and Mali. The tax administration of the Czech Republic is starting behavioural trials to improve compliance, and Luts is one of the experts advising them throughout the process. The trials are testing the simplification nudges and the deterrence and social norm messages from the Belgian experiments and following the same design. [ 5.1]

The project has been featured in briefing documents that highlight best practice in the use of behavioural insights in policy, including from the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) [ 5.5] and the Intra-European Organisation of Tax Administrators (IOTA). [ 5.6] The JRC is coordinating a cross-national experiment with several European tax administrations to test the use of nudge messages in tax collection, including the deterrence message nudge tested in the trial. Luts and his team are closely involved in this project, with Belgium providing a leading example of the effective use of nudging. The findings are due to be presented at a conference organised by the European Commission and the OECD Forum on Tax Administration. [ 5.1]

The research was also presented to 27 different countries at the OECD and IOTA conference hosted by Belgium in April 2017. After the conference, Belgium recommended that the OECD form a Community of Interest on Behavioural Insights. This was launched in late 2017 and shares best practice in applying behavioural insights to improve public policy worldwide. Belgium also leads the Tax Debt Management Network within the OECD and has promoted Behavioural Insights on the Network's agenda. [ 5.1]

Informing policymaking in the UK

Over the REF period, Oswald was repeatedly consulted by UK civil servants on the measurement of well-being and analysis of well-being data, including a talk on 'Well-being: Research and Policy' at HM Treasury (2013), an invited lecture at the 'Government Economic Service at 50' event (2014), and a talk at the Treasury's 'Teach-In on Well-being' (2017).

Oswald has been working closely with the ONS Quality of Life Team on several recent projects. He advised the ONS (2019-20) on a project with the Cabinet Office (CO) to deliver the first phase of the Well-being Pillar of their Strategic Framework, which aims to improve the design of cross-cutting policy priorities to achieve better outcomes for citizens. Oswald helped the ONS to provide the CO with an accurate picture of UK well-being, ensuring the information they reported was based on relevant academic evidence, including his own research. [ 5.1] Additionally, he has provided advice on different measures of well-being inequality through his role on an ONS advisory group. The ONS has also been liaising regularly with Oswald for advice on improvements to their well-being publications; advice on additional well-being analysis that could be carried out and measurement methodology; and help linking up economic and well-being data. [ 5.1]

Oswald was one of a small number of experts consulted by HM Treasury in preparation of the 2018 Green Book, which provides guidance for civil servants on how to appraise and evaluate policies and programmes, allowing them to advise Ministers on different options. It is a key document that shapes the day-to-day work of government officials and is used or has been replicated internationally. Well-being was a priority area for the update, and for the first time the book states that improving well-being (referred to as social value) is the underlying aim of policy development and evaluation. Omar Idriss (then HM Treasury) led the project to update the book and consulted Oswald for advice on the well-being evidence base and its practical application, based on his research expertise. Idriss notes that this "enabled me to develop a high-quality, evidence-based draft of the various sections on well-being which were included. This was subsequently agreed across government and highlighted to Ministers as a key development." He comments that without Oswald's input, "it would have been challenging to deliver the work which enables government officials conducting appraisal and cost-benefit analysis […] to intelligently include well-being evidence in their work to shape policy development." [ 5.2]

The 2018 Green Book references a DWP and HM Treasury report (Fujiwara D., and Campbell R, (2011). Valuation Techniques for Social Cost-Benefit Analysis: Stated Preference, Revealed Preference and Subjective Well-Being Approaches. A Discussion of the Current Issues) which extensively cites Oswald's work and uses a valuation method first outlined in 3.1. [ 5.3] One of the report's authors, Daniel Fujiwara (a former senior economist in the Cabinet Office who led on the econometric analysis of wellbeing data to input into policymaking), testifies to the impact Oswald's research has had on the way governments evaluate policy: "Over the past 10 years wellbeing analysis and wellbeing valuation have become key methods used by governments across the world to assess policy interventions and Prof. Oswald was one of the first pioneers of these approaches […] I would say that Prof. Oswald's work over the past 20 years has had a major positive impact on how governments make decisions and spend taxpayers' money for the greater good of society. Organisations in both the public and private sector now want to measure the impacts of what they do on people's wellbeing and I feel that Prof. Oswald's pioneering work in wellbeing economics has been a key driver of this change." [ 5.4]  Dr Fujiwara has now established a well-being analysis consultancy (Simetrica), which employs many of the valuation methods that Oswald pioneered to help clients understand their social impact. [ 5.4]

Oswald has also played a leading role on the What Works Wellbeing Centre's advisory panel, which has advised on over sixteen systematic reviews of well-being evidence since 2015 (which have had over 50,000 downloads). [ 5.5] The Centre's work is used across government departments, business and the voluntary sector. Oswald's research is directly cited five times in the Centre's guide for policymakers on how to consider well-being in policy design and analysis. [ 5.5] Following publication of the 2018 Green Book, the Centre posted a blog discussing the significance of policies that incorporate well-being in analysis – for example, local economic strategies that focus on job quality and conditions that allow positive social interactions rather than just GDP and make emotional health in schools a priority alongside attainment. [ 5.5]

International measurement of well-being

Oswald's research has informed work on well-being at the European Commission. In 2019 the European Council adopted conclusions on the 'Economy of Wellbeing', inviting EU member states and the Commission to put people and their wellbeing at the centre of policy and decision-making. In June 2019, Oswald gave a lecture on well-being measurement and research to 100-150 policymakers at the European Commission and had a meeting at the Commission's Policy and Strategy Centre with the Principal Advisor on European Social Policy, Patrick Develtere, and the Head of Social Affairs, Ruby Gropas. Mr Develtere stated that Professor Oswald's work has been "very inspiring for the work we have been doing in the Commission on wellbeing and quality of life…several colleagues from the European institutions, but also from the member states and civil society have been referring to the work of Oswald in the course of the reflections that have been going on […] over the past years." [ 5.6]

Oswald's research is also referenced in the World Happiness Reports 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 (including 19 references in the 2017 report and a special mention of thanks in the 2015 report). The World Happiness Report is the annual publication of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and ranks countries according to national happiness, based on a range of factors that go beyond income alone. [ 5.7]

Improving well-being and productivity at work

Oswald's work with Sgroi and Proto on happiness and productivity has been presented multiple times to civil servants, consultants and policymakers, including at an event supported by the Social Market Foundation in 2015. Seven of Oswald's papers are cited in the New Economics Foundation's report 'Well-being at work: A review of the literature', which makes recommendations on how organisations can foster employee well-being. [ 5.8]

In 2015-16, Sgroi and Proto had extensive discussions with Aberdeen City Council that laid the foundations for a programme of work to transform the way it operates and boost well-being among its 8,000 employees. Following the discussions, the Council developed a set of behavioural principles focussed on employee happiness: purpose, team working, valuing work and each other, pride and recognition, and collaboration and partnerships. These principles have underpinned tangible programmes of work to increase employee well-being, such as a project to improve interpersonal relationships within the organisation by reducing stigma around mental health issues. Practical steps include training mental health First Aiders, a communications campaign, a mental health week, and yoga and mindfulness courses. Other programmes of work include initiatives to create a sense of belonging and common purpose and to increase employee confidence and engagement. Changes to the working environment include flexible working and finding technological solutions to repetitive tasks so employees can concentrate on higher-value work. [ 5.9]

The research also attracted interest from the United Arab Emirates Minister of State for Happiness and Well-being and Oswald was invited to give a talk to 300 government officials. In 2018, the UAE National Program for Happiness and Well-being launched 'A Guide to Happiness & Well-being in the Workplace' for government entities and other organisations, which cites a briefing paper by Sgroi that is based on 3.6. [ 5.10]

Additional citations and media coverage

Over the impact period, Oswald and colleagues' work has been reported in hundreds of media sources in several languages (including The Daily Telegraph, The Economist, The New York Times, The Sun, Forbes , and The Daily Mail) [ 5.11], changing public understanding of how human progress should be defined and measured.

According to Altmetric, Oswald's work has been cited 39 times in 32 different policy documents during the impact period by organisations including think tanks, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the Department for Work and Pensions, Public Health England, the Scottish Government and the Inter-American Development Bank. [ 5.11]

Informing outreach evaluation guidance and practice

Every year around GBP1,000,000,000 is invested in outreach work to improve fair access to higher education, but there has been a lack of evaluation activity to understand the impact of this work and ensure value for money. Warwick research on the evaluation of HE outreach activities [ 3.3, 3.4, 3.5] has increased awareness of the importance of evaluation activity and helped to inform a step-change in evaluation practice in the HE sector in recent years.

Crawford spoke about the research at the Office for Students (OfS) launch event in February 2018. Writing in a Wonkhe article in March 2018, Chris Millward, Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS, said: "One of the key messages from Claire's speech at the launch conference that really struck home with me, was the role that the OfS can play in driving evidence-led practices. So, I will be looking for all providers to improve their use of evidence and evaluation so that we can make sure that investment is being focused on the activities that are most effective." [ 5.1]

Crawford also gave oral evidence to the House of Commons Education Committee's 'Value for money in higher education inquiry' (February 2018). The Committee's report to Government (November 2018) quotes Crawford in saying there is not robust evaluation of HEIs' widening participation work and recommends a rigorous evaluation process. In its response to the report, the Government confirmed that it has asked the OfS to focus on evaluation as a matter of priority, to ensure that spending on access and participation activities by the HE sector is having maximum positive impact. [ 5.2]

Crawford's research has informed advice given to HEIs by the Office for Fair Access (OFFA) and its successor, the OfS, on evaluating outreach. Millward confirms that "The research had a significant impact, producing a set of Evidence Standards, which, for the first time, provided clear guidance on the claims that can be made from evidence produced using different evaluation methods. The publication and the subsequent OFFA guidance led to improvements in evaluation practice." [5.1]

As Millward testifies, a second phase of the work was taken forward by the OfS and the resulting evaluation guidance was a key element in the regulatory requirements published in 2019 to provide guidance to HEIs on preparing their access and participation plans. He said: "Dr Crawford's research played an important role in enabling the OfS to give clear advice about what good evaluation practice looks like and to identify areas where the sector needed to improve." [ 5.1]

Milward also confirms the impact of Crawford's wider body of research into the link between socio-economic background and HE participation [ 3.1, 3.2]. He said: "Dr Crawford's research has influenced access and participation policy for a number of years. Prior to the establishment of the OfS, both HEFCE and OFFA drew on Dr Crawford's research [...] This research was often cited in OFFA access agreement and HEFCE student opportunity funding guidance and highlighted the importance of working with young people from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds from an early stage in their educational journey."  [ 5.1]

In addition, Crawford was one of two academic partners who helped to develop the Scottish Toolkit for Fair Access (underpinned by 3.3 and 3.4), commissioned by the Scottish Funding Council on behalf of the Commissioner for Fair Access. The toolkit is one of two pillars of the Scottish Framework for Fair Access, launched in 2019, and provides evidence on the effectiveness of outreach activities, supporting education practitioners to design successful interventions. [ 5.3]

Shaping debate and guidance on the use of contextual admissions

Admissions in Context [ 3.5] has raised awareness of the role that contextual admissions can play in increasing access to HE for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, informing public and policy debate. Following publication of the report, Sir Peter Lampl, Chairman of the Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation, called for top universities to make contextual admissions a 'central element' of their admissions processes. [ 5.4] The report received widespread media coverage, including The Guardian, The Sun, The Times, BBC News, The Independent, Evening Standard, Irish Times, Buzzfeed, TES, Wonkhe and BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. It was also discussed in a number of comment pieces including in Times Higher Education, the LSE Blog and Advancing Access. [ 5.4]

Crawford drew on the report's findings in her oral evidence to the Education Committee's 'Value for money in higher education' inquiry. The Committee's report to Government cites her evidence and makes a recommendation to support the use of contextualised admissions. [ 5.2] The Government's response to the report acknowledges that contextual admissions have a role to play in widening access to HE. [ 5.2]

Admissions in Context was also cited in the Scottish Commissioner for Fair Access 2017 annual report and feeds into the report's recommendations, including for universities to make bolder use of contextual offers. [ 5.5] In a ministerial statement at Holyrood, then-education minister Shirley Anne Somerville gave her support to the Commissioner's recommendations on contextual admissions. [ 5.5]

A number of sector organisations responded to the report and used it to inform their guidance to universities. Universities Scotland issued a formal response welcoming the report, confirming that Scotland's universities "intend to take bold new steps on the consistency, transparency and promotion of our contextualised admissions" and that "our actions will directly address many of the Sutton Trust's recommendations." [ 5.6] The Medical Schools Council published a report on good practice in contextual admissions in 2018 and endorses the Sutton Trust's recommendation that HEIs make greater use of contextual measures. [ 5.7] The OfS also encourages HE providers to consider the use of contextual data, referencing the report on its webpage on contextual admissions. [ 5.8] Its May 2019 Insight brief calls for more radical use of contextual admissions, citing the report's finding that universities are too conservative when making contextual offers. [ 5.8] In addition, the report is cited in policy briefings published by the Higher Education Policy Institute: the 'Manifesto for the new (OfS) Director of Fair Access and Participation' (May 2018), and Social mobility and elite universities (December 2019). [ 5.9]

The report has been the basis for the Sutton Trust's policy work on contextual admissions, including discussions with the Department for Education, UCAS and the OfS on making Free School Meals data available to universities. The Sutton Trust is also in discussions with its partner universities on whether Sutton Trust summer school participation could be recognised across universities as a marker for contextual admissions. [ 5.10]

Admissions in Context has been central to the debate on contextual admissions and the role they can play in making the HE admissions process more inclusive. As Sir Michael Barber, chair of the OfS, commented, February 2020, on the launch of a major review into the HE admissions system, there is now "widespread recognition that certain aspects of the current admissions system are not working, and may be especially unfair on students from disadvantaged backgrounds". [ 5.11] Ultimately, the OfS and other key organisations in the HE sector are now taking action to reform the system to address these inequalities. The role of contextual admissions for students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be one of the key issues considered. Separately, a 'Fair Admissions' review is also being carried out by Universities UK. [ 5.11]